The present invention relates to lighting equipment for industrial automatic machines which do work upon an object and which are controlled by means of information given by a picture of the object obtained by a TV camera or the like. Such lighting equipment is utilized to illuminate the work in such a picture information system.
Illumination is generally required at a moving portion, such as an arm of an industrial robot. Therefore, the light source and other peripheral devices of the equipment are set on a stable portion, and an optical fiber is provided between the light source and the moving portion requiring illumination, so as to conduct light from the source to the moving portion.
With such lighting equipment, accidental turning off of the light source causes many problems. Without illumination, the picture information obtained by the TV camera becomes so incorrect that operation with the automatic machine often must be stopped. Therefore, when the light source fails, it has to be replaced. However, such replacement it is difficult, and it takes a long time to replace the light source if it is mounted on the moving portion of the machine. Furthermore, when no one is aware of the failure of the light source, the operation is performed based on wrong picture information, taken by the TV camera without illumination.
An object of the invention is to provide lighting equipment which can be automatically changed to utilize another light source when a light source fails.
Another object of the invention is to provide lighting equipment which can warn failure of a light source.
A further object of the invention is to provide lighting equipment which can check a light source to ascertain whether it can light or not.